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Music Video Film School: “Wake Me Up” by Avicii

A young woman wakes up beside her sister in the same familiar bed. She is mournful, sad about the life that the two live. The sisters know barely anything of their existence, of their family’s past, or of their link to the mysterious group, only voiced through hushed whispers as “Avicii.” The younger sister is completely unaware, and the older sister can hardly even remember the day when she and her sister got that symbol tattooed on their arms. Or was it always there?

They walk through a town that treats them like outsiders, a town that their mother and father had travelled into one day, and never returned from. They encounter harsh glares and exclusion. The younger sister wonders why the people hate them so. The older girl doesn’t have a good answer. However, she does remember the name “Avicii”, and the next morning, in an effort to possibly answer her sibling’s question, she heads off on her horse in the early morning. Avicii, whatever it is, whoever it is, they would know why.

Also, her saddle is from Ralph Lauren. We know this because the camera centers on the brand logo for a few seconds. This is a sign that Ralph Lauren is a creator of quality saddles, music video quality saddles, and probably a few other things, if you’re not in the market for buying saddles. You should buy from Ralph Lauren. RALPH. LAUREN.

She rides her horse through a river bed, like that part in the Fellowship of the Ring where Frodo did something similar. I’m not stating outright that this is the director’s homage to Peter Jackson and J.R.R. Tolkein, but it seems like it. She eventually enters a city that seems completely abandoned at first glance. There is no hesitation in her expression. Avicii must be here.

Also, Ralph Lauren is here too. RALPH. LAUREN.

She ties her horse to lamp post and leaves it there to fend for itself. Then, she notices a beautiful woman with the same tattoo. She follows the stranger, hoping that maybe she bring the traveler to Avicii. When their eyes meet, there is an air of understanding, a common, unspoken bond. A man entering the scene shares this same connection with them, and this connection is so powerful that it leads the woman to getting into the back of a truck with people that she doesn’t know, effectively ignoring every safety tip elementary school imparted onto her.

Eventually, they make their way to a massive concert. On stage, a man sings about “not knowing that he was lost.” This speaks to the young woman. Everyone has the tattoo here. If there was a cat around, it would probably have two triangles inked onto it as well. The atmosphere is euphoric, so euphoric that the girl needs to take a picture of herself and her new allies enjoying it. If there’s one thing that the smooth transition into a cult needs, it’s Instagram.

There is no explanation as to who the man on stage is. Is he Avicii? Is the entire crowd the Avicii? She’ll probably never know what happened to her parents, and why, at such a young age, she was forced into raising her young sister. However, she does know that it is her proper place to join these people in this wrecked husk of a city, and to share in the passion that Avicii, whatever it is, brings to them, and give to the energy that Avicii draws from them.

She races back home on horseback and wakes her sister up. When the sister inquires as to where they are going, the main character simply answers “Somewhere we belong.” They then ignore the fact that they own a horse entirely, and walk down the side of the road. From there we see a montage of the girls walking, spliced with footage of the concert and the tattooed symbol in flames above the DJ. Also, a girl is wearing a shirt that reads “Avicii” on it, giving more weight to the idea that Avicii is not one man, but a group of people. (The Avicii shirt is not Ralph Lauren.)

Back in the sister’s home town, we see another girl, staring out into the distance. She doesn’t know exactly what has happened, but she feels the impact of a loss. Someone, some soul, has gone missing. In her heart, she knew that this was fate, and that the disappearance was meant to happen, but it doesn’t make the hurt any less.